Last week, Mazda tweeted “Sneak a peek at some #Mazda @SEMASHOW cars: MX-5 Spyder & Turbo2,” and included a link to images of the two Vegas-bound cars. What’s an MX-5 Spyder and a Turbo2? Read on for more on the dynamic duo.

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Mazda MX-5 Spyder

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The MX-5 Spyder (pictured above) has a skimpy bikini top in place of a normal folding roof. The move should save some weight, which, combined with Brembo brakes and a Mazdaspeed coil-over suspension, implies a harder-core take on the regular car in the spirit of the similarly Spyder-ed Porsche Boxster. A lithium-ion accessory battery further lightens the load and boasts better charge retention than a conventional battery. Aside from the minimalist top, the Spyder has a unique, streamlined front fascia with a larger central intake, a lower spoiler, and cooling ducts for the front brakes. The Spyder is powered by the same MZR 2.0-liter four as a normal MX-5, but in this application it drinks BP isobutanol biofuel and breathes through a Racing Beat intake, headers, and exhaust muffler. Rounding out the performance mods is a Mazdaspeed short-throw shift kit. What, no quad-rotor Wankel? This is SEMA, after all…

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Mazda Turbo2

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As its name suggests, the Turbo2 is a turbocharged Mazda 2—but it doesn’t use a turbocharged version of the Mazda 2’s 1.5-liter four. Nope, the Turbo2 has the turbocharged 263-hp, 2.3-liter four from the Mazdaspeed 3 stuffed under its tiny hood. On paper, it seems wildly over the top for the featherweight Mazda 2, but let us be clear: we’re totally game for a 2 with 160 percent more power. Such an infusion of horsepower would certainly make our long-term 2 more exciting in a straight line. (Or would that be on an angle? Torque steer might be an issue in the Turbo2.)

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The Turbo2 looks track ready—even more so than Mazda’s B-Spec racing 2—with its jaunty rear wing, cool graphics package, and sticky track rubber. To improve the little 2’s handling as well as haul it down from speed, Mazda outfitted the Turbo2 with coil-overs, stiffer anti-roll bars, and customized Brembo front brakes, including 13-inch vented and slotted rotors. Likely not helping the 2 slow down? The stock rear brakes, which last time we checked were good old drums. But hey, uneven front-to-rear braking performance and torque steer puts hair on your chest, right? We can certainly overlook the Turbo2’s potential weaknesses, and we’re eager to try and get behind its wheel; did we mention it’s a Mazda 2 with 263 horses?